designACE Blog
Welcome.
Our blog is filled with the latest and greatest from our team. Here you will find updates on our recent projects, behind-the-scenes exclusives on the work we are proud of, and new ideas and perspectives we think there is value in sharing.
Recent Articles
Design Thinking is not just a buzzword—it's a powerful approach that places empathy and creativity at the forefront of problem-solving. This blog explores how businesses and nonprofits can leverage Design Thinking to create solutions that resonate deeply with their audiences, emphasizing the crucial role of understanding user needs and embracing creative processes to drive impactful change.
Learn how to use your holiday downtime for professional development with this step-by-step guide. Whether you want to reflect on your achievements, pick up a new skill, or reconnect with your network, these practical tips will help you turn the holiday season into an opportunity for personal and professional growth.
Discover the top 5 remote work tools that will boost your productivity in 2025. From project management to time tracking and content creation, these tools can help streamline workflows, improve collaboration, and make remote work more efficient. Explore how we use tools like Asana, Google Meet, Canva, and more at designACE, plus get insights into other resources to elevate your work-from-home setup.
This blog delves into strategies for building genuine connections on LinkedIn. Rather than focusing on expanding numbers, the emphasis is on fostering meaningful relationships that align with long-term business goals. The blog offers tips on engaging intentionally, targeting potential leads, and maintaining consistent interaction to build trust, credibility, and valuable professional connections.
This blog offers a step-by-step guide to building a thriving LinkedIn Company Page following. Discover fun and effective strategies to engage your audience, increase visibility, and foster meaningful connections on LinkedIn. Learn how to optimize your page, utilize mentions and hashtags, analyze performance, and post consistently to grow your company’s presence.
This blog outlines seven powerful strategies to increase engagement on LinkedIn, focusing on personalizing content, using visuals, engaging with your network, and staying consistent. Whether you're looking to grow your professional network or make a bigger impact with your content, these actionable tips will help you maximize your presence on LinkedIn and foster stronger relationships.
Understanding your LinkedIn engagement rate is crucial for anyone serious about building a presence on the platform. In this blog, Andrew Edwards, Co-founder of designACE, explains how to calculate and interpret your LinkedIn engagement rate. Learn why this metric is essential for building credibility, fostering relationships, and achieving your business goals.
This blog dives into the real fears that haunt professionals in managing social media, from keeping up with trends to connecting with the right audience. Through insights gathered at the Toronto Business Summit, designACE uncovers common social media “scaries” and offers a strategic approach to turn these fears into growth opportunities. Discover how consistency, audience targeting, and platform learning don’t have to be nightmares with the right guidance.
This blog explores the crucial role of strategic planning and expert coaching in helping small businesses navigate challenges and achieve sustainable success. By sharing insights and real-world experiences from designACE, it highlights how turning obstacles into opportunities can empower businesses to thrive in today’s competitive market.
In "Thinking Beyond the Trends: Establishing Thought Leadership in Your Industry," Christine Reynolds, co-founder of designACE.ca, shares insights on how to rise above mere trend-following to become a true thought leader. Learn how to embrace strategic foresight, invest in continuous learning, create and share original content, build a strong network, stay authentic, and leverage technology to make a lasting impact in your industry.
Explore how focusing on what truly matters can lead to sustainable and impactful business growth. Andrew Edwards, co-founder of designACE, shares insights on overcoming burnout, the benefits of strategic focus, and how designACE can help businesses thrive without getting overwhelmed.
Skills Development
Uncover the transformative lessons learned from influential female entrepreneurs.
If you are curious to learn what sets successful female run companies and BIPOC entrepreneurs apart, I have a few great tips to share from the recent Standing on Business event hosted by The Why Not Agency, where experienced business leaders shared some of their best advice while discussing the enablers and barriers they each experienced throughout their journey to entrepreneurship.
Discover how Christine, co-founder of DesignACE, harnessed the power of the P.O.E.M.S Framework to supercharge her startup journey. Explore how insightful user research, catering to diverse generational needs from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, transformed her innovative approach to meetings. Uncover the secrets behind creating user-centric products that truly resonate.
Spirited Insights: Life Lessons from Working at a Distillery - A tale of self-discovery and career development by Andrew Edwards. Follow his transformative journey, learn the art of craft spirits, and uncover valuable life lessons from the distillery floor.
Incorporating essential qualities into your professional development can elevate your leadership approach. This blog post delves into four skills that can immediately enhance your leadership style. We include pro tips that work for our leadership skill development.
I'm eager to share my personal and professional growth experience after completing the Coursera High-Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation certificate (offered by Northwestern University).In this blog post, I review how this certificate helped me learn new skills and greatly impacted my approach to collaborating with people and leading teams.
Walking is not only good for your physical health, but also for your creativity and mental well-being. Learn how walking can boost your creative output by up to 60%, improve your cognitive functions, and reduce your stress levels. Find out how to make walking a part of your daily routine and enjoy the benefits of a healthier and happier mind.
Are you ready to unlock the secrets of exceptional teamwork and high performance? Building a high-performing team requires more than assembling a group of people with diverse skills and experiences. While diverse expertise and perspectives are crucial to a successful team, a sense of alignment regarding a common purpose, shared goals, and core values is pertinent to cohesion and performance.
I dreamed of starting my own company. I daydream about running my professional services agency, visualizing my success, and planning my next moves. Then I realized that leaping would be extremely hard without getting organized and developing solid project management skills. The online Google Project Management Professional Certificate program equips you with the necessary skills and tools to manage any project, from initiation to launch.
A bold vision is essential for any team or business to succeed. It provides a clear direction and focus and allows individuals to make proactive strategic choices confidently.
Take the next step and ask your boss the 5 brilliant questions listed. See what insights you can gain and start the journey to unlocking your potential.
Ambient focus music is essential for busy professionals who need to stay productive at home, in the office, or wherever they call their workplace. Here are our top seven choices for focus music for busy professionals.
Discover our go-to resource for mastering the art of Design Thinking so you can easily implement effective new ways of working. We provide tools and tips for entrepreneurs, teams, and leaders that will enable them to harness the power of Design Thinking to drive meaningful change.
Stop hosting boring meetings if you want people to contribute to your initiatives. Forbes estimates that 70% of all meetings are a waste of time. Therefore, we are making it our mission to help revitalize people's days and bring back constructive discussions. #NoMoreBoringMeetings
We all want to live our best personal and professional life in 2023. So here are our next eight of twenty-three happy habits to focus on in 2023 to help make the year ahead the most successful.
This article provides six steps to unlock your sales potential with empathy and help you develop a human-centred approach to business development. Empathy is a powerful tool to help you connect with your target audience and build trust. By focusing on your customers' needs and understanding their problems, you have a better chance of developing a solution that appeals to them and drives sales.
This blog briefly covers the common benefits and blindspots of different Leadership styles and gives five simple tips to level up your leadership skills today.
I can confidently say with 100% certainty that I have my best ideas when walking. I feel my mind relax, my body energize, and my heart find a healthy rhythm. There were many times over the last couple of years when I was feeling stressed, overworked, and burnt out. I instantly felt better when I took a break, stepped outside, and got my steps in.
Public speaking is one of the most important skills you can develop. These speaking techniques will help you to stand out for the right reasons. Apply them at school, at work, or for a personal event.
An introduction to the advantages the Design Thinking framework brings to a business, culture, and product. First, learn to harness the Design Thinking process from brainstorming to testing. Then, prepare your approach to empower a team to focus on what’s important at every step of the design journey. Finally, explore methods and workshops to solve real-world problems.
Workshops & Meetings
Discover a delightful way to deepen your bond with your significant other through the 'Love & Laughter: Romantic Reflection Ritual.' Unveil the week's shared joys, navigate challenges, and relive moments that make your journey together extraordinary. Strengthen your connection with each heartfelt reflection, fostering a love that thrives on laughter and cherishes every moment. Join us in this captivating ritual that transforms reflection into a celebration of your unique love story.
These reflection questions allow you to gain valuable insights into their volunteer experiences. Learn how people quantify their contributions. Discover how to foster a culture of continuous improvement and appreciation for their dedication.
Let’s explore each question to see how they can foster self-reflection and progress for you and your valued volunteer team.
Are you tired of the same old 9-to-5 routine? Do you want to spice up your work life with adventure and creativity? If so, you will love this blog post by designACE, which specializes in creating productive spaces for imagination. They will show you how they used their waterproof Extreme Post-its to run a fun and effective retrospective on a paddleboard in the middle of a lake. You will learn how to break free of the boring office meetings and unleash your inner explorer.
If you want to get better at anticipating challenges or learn how to support your teams through risks better, you need to add these three questions to your team retrospectives and stand-ups. Try these questions today and see how they boost your confidence and solidify your chances of project and team success.
As busy professionals embark on their journey to success, you'll encounter smooth sailing and unexpected bumps. Innovation leaders must recognize the need for continuous improvement and anticipate potential pitfalls.
This blog will explore the significance of incorporating a go-to-market strategic review strategy. Our framework will enable you to steer your projects toward triumph while building a cohesive and resilient team.
Discover the essential reflection questions to kickstart your project with success. Learn how to align your team's vision, mitigate potential risks, and leverage strengths for optimal outcomes. Boost project performance and achieve remarkable results with these key insights.
As an entrepreneur, one of the keys to success is finding your niche—a specific market area where you can offer something unique and valuable to your customers. Doing so allows you to differentiate yourself from competitors, attract loyal customers, and build a sustainable and profitable business. In this blog post, we'll explore why finding your niche is crucial and provide examples of how entrepreneurs have thrived by narrowing their focus.
I'm eager to share my personal and professional growth experience after completing the Coursera High-Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation certificate (offered by Northwestern University).In this blog post, I review how this certificate helped me learn new skills and greatly impacted my approach to collaborating with people and leading teams.
As a leader, you have the power and responsibility to guide your team to achieve goals. How do you ensure your team is focused and aligned on what matters? The answer is simple: ask these three goal-oriented questions every Friday and facilitate a meaningful conversation to help your team reach new heights.
Are you ready to unlock the secrets of exceptional teamwork and high performance? Building a high-performing team requires more than assembling a group of people with diverse skills and experiences. While diverse expertise and perspectives are crucial to a successful team, a sense of alignment regarding a common purpose, shared goals, and core values is pertinent to cohesion and performance.
In the ever-changing world of project management, effective communication holds the key to success. Exceptional leaders and dynamic project teams have one thing in common: they dedicate time to align their team norms and establish communication standards and expectations. Using a unique activity like “My User Manual,” teams can find the perfect work style.
Encouraging a Friday reflection routine can uplift your team's communication, teamwork, and overall progress. Simply initiate open-ended questions that spark creativity and honest conversations. Then, spotlight the week's highs, learn from any lows, and foster collaborative skills.
I dreamed of starting my own company. I daydream about running my professional services agency, visualizing my success, and planning my next moves. Then I realized that leaping would be extremely hard without getting organized and developing solid project management skills. The online Google Project Management Professional Certificate program equips you with the necessary skills and tools to manage any project, from initiation to launch.
Are you looking for an effective way to foster collaboration, align goals, and jumpstart problem-solving within your team? If you are looking for new ways of working to foster collaboration, align goals, and jumpstart problem-solving within your team, you may benefit from hosting a Team Alignment Session. In this blog, we'll delve into the exciting world of alignment workshops and discover how they can revolutionize your team's dynamics.
Harnessing your team's superpowers and celebrating your strengths can increase collaboration, productivity, and success. Identifying each member's strengths can benefit the team and create a positive and inclusive work environment. Look for each other's kryptonite and celebrate your team's victories by blasting your theme song. These steps will power up your unit and soar toward your goals.
A retrospective activity involves looking at past successes and failures to learn from them.
Retrospective activities at the end of a sprint or when completing a new project are the optimal time to reflect on the goals and challenges faced and what was done to achieve and mitigate them.
Brilliant Questions
Revitalize your team dynamics with our spring-themed icebreaker questions infused with April Fools' Day fun! Boost camaraderie, spark engaging conversations, and enhance collaboration with our expertly crafted prompts. Explore now for a refreshing twist on team building.
Unlock the art of meaningful networking with our guide to effective LinkedIn icebreakers. Discover how to initiate engaging post-conference conversations, and delve into thought-provoking questions that foster genuine connections in the digital realm.
Enhance your camping trips with these engaging icebreakers! Ignite meaningful conversations under the stars, from choosing animal sidekicks to sharing secret trail mix ingredients. Discover how these creative prompts foster connections, making your outdoor adventures even more unforgettable.
Discover a delightful way to deepen your bond with your significant other through the 'Love & Laughter: Romantic Reflection Ritual.' Unveil the week's shared joys, navigate challenges, and relive moments that make your journey together extraordinary. Strengthen your connection with each heartfelt reflection, fostering a love that thrives on laughter and cherishes every moment. Join us in this captivating ritual that transforms reflection into a celebration of your unique love story.
Looking to connect with extraterrestrial beings from distant galaxies? Unleash your inner cosmic conversationalist with our blog post! 'Beam Me Up, Small Talk' presents 10 mind-bending icebreakers that will have you mingling with aliens like a seasoned space traveller. From sharing interstellar knowledge to exploring alien cultures, these cosmic questions are your ticket to forging connections that defy the bounds of space and time. Embark on an intergalactic journey of curiosity and wonder, and get ready to break the ice in a truly out-of-this-world style.
These reflection questions allow you to gain valuable insights into their volunteer experiences. Learn how people quantify their contributions. Discover how to foster a culture of continuous improvement and appreciation for their dedication.
Let’s explore each question to see how they can foster self-reflection and progress for you and your valued volunteer team.
Embarking on a road trip is a memorable adventure. Spark conversations with 5 icebreaker questions. Share road trip playlists, driving preferences, must-have snacks, dream co-travellers, and reality show ideas. Connect, laugh, and make lasting memories with fellow travellers.
If you want to get better at anticipating challenges or learn how to support your teams through risks better, you need to add these three questions to your team retrospectives and stand-ups. Try these questions today and see how they boost your confidence and solidify your chances of project and team success.
Hiring new employees is an exciting and important process for any organization. It’s also a crucial opportunity to make a good first impression, establish a rapport and create a positive and welcoming work environment. One of the ways to do that is to use icebreaker questions that can help you get to know the new hires better, understand their strengths and interests, and make them feel comfortable and valued. Here are five icebreaker questions that are perfect for new hires.
Festivals are a wonderful way to celebrate life, culture, and art. It's always an experience finding a crowd full of people with the same passion and enthusiasm. Whether it's music, film, comedy, arts and crafts, or any other genre, there's a festival for everyone and everything. Here are five icebreaker questions you can bring to your next festival.
Discover the essential reflection questions to kickstart your project with success. Learn how to align your team's vision, mitigate potential risks, and leverage strengths for optimal outcomes. Boost project performance and achieve remarkable results with these key insights.
Summer is here, and it’s time to enjoy the sunshine, the warm weather and the fun activities with your friends and family. Whether you’re at a work event, hosting a backyard barbecue, a pool party or a picnic in the park, you’ll want some icebreakers ready to get the conversation flowing and break the ice with new or old acquaintances. Here are five icebreaker questions that are perfect for summer parties!
5 Icebreaker Questions: How to Avoid Awkward Silences and Boring Conversations Learn how to use icebreaker questions to start engaging and productive conversations with anyone. These 5 questions will help you build rapport, trust, and creativity with your team. Click here to discover them now.
Effective stand-ups have invested and engaged team members present who contribute and engage. They often have a fearless leader who thoughtfully plans each stand-up and picks the perfect icebreaker to kick the meeting off and encourage participation. In this article, we’ll show you how to do that and create a strong sense of community and collaboration among your team with five winning icebreaker questions. These questions will encourage communication, bring your team together and get everyone excited about the work you are doing together. So, let’s get started!
As a leader, you have the power and responsibility to guide your team to achieve goals. How do you ensure your team is focused and aligned on what matters? The answer is simple: ask these three goal-oriented questions every Friday and facilitate a meaningful conversation to help your team reach new heights.
Team building and collaboration will enhance your meetings and group dynamic. We are happy to offer five excellent icebreaker activities to energize your team and promote teamwork. These questions range from discussing communication preferences to learning styles and will help your team build meaningful connections.
Encouraging a Friday reflection routine can uplift your team's communication, teamwork, and overall progress. Simply initiate open-ended questions that spark creativity and honest conversations. Then, spotlight the week's highs, learn from any lows, and foster collaborative skills.
Forget small talk about the weather. Freshen things up instead and get to know your teammates with these five winning icebreaker questions.
Connecting with your team can be challenging, especially in a virtual setting. These five unique icebreakers will help you break down barriers, improve communication, and build stronger relationships with your colleagues.
Skip the awkward small talk and jump into a meaningful conversation with these unique and creative icebreakers. Your colleagues will thank you!
In today's fast-paced business world, understanding your CEO's vision is crucial to your team's success. That's why we've compiled a list of five questions guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on your CEO and help you seek advice for your future.
Take the next step and ask your boss the 5 brilliant questions listed. See what insights you can gain and start the journey to unlocking your potential.
Here are 29 thoughtful retrospective questions to help you consider past successes and failures so you can learn from them. Retrospective activities at the end of a sprint or when completing a new project are the optimal time to reflect on the goals and challenges faced and what was done to achieve and mitigate them.
Ask your team these questions to improve your working relationship and move forward towards common goals.
It is important to note that all managers can apply this structure - it is up to more than one side to organize and shape these periodical meetings.
All Blog Articles
Navigating the Future of Work: Trends Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce
This blog delves into the significant trends shaping the future of work, including the rise of remote work, hybrid models, and the evolving role of leadership in a digital age. Learn how to leverage strategic foresight and innovation to stay ahead in a rapidly changing landscape.
Explore how Futures Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Design Thinking can transform the way you approach challenges. This quick guide provides practical insights into expanding your mindset, anticipating changes, and designing solutions that resonate. Whether you’re a leader, entrepreneur, or curious thinker, learn how to envision the future, understand the bigger picture, and create meaningful change.